Weekly newsletter: The pot belly of ignorance, the empty narcissist, new tunes, and more

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Arts & Culture

On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog. No one knows your political views either until they spot your comments in an echo chamber of callousness on Reddit. When did it become ok to ignore the facts and revert to coercion? Interesting reflections on today's world from Cognitive Edge's Dave Snowden:

Empathy, the ability to see things from different perspectives is creating something sustainable.

Rupi Kaur is a twenty-two year old artist from Ontario. Originally from Punjab, India, she sketches and posts poems on Instagram and Tumblr about love and relationships. Kaur recently published a book that sold 17,000 copies. While love verses are a fan favorite, she says that talking about interesting topics like violence and sexual abuse are what give her the edge.

For me writing is a form of healing, so it’s never been about the audience. Obviously I want people to like my work, but the most important thing is that I like it. I have to completely feel it”

Philosophy & Productivity

Clickbait is the result of a 24/7 news cycle. Media companies create stories of unimportance so that they can get another click to drive up revenues. The entire operation intends to suck your attention and waste your time, along with depleting your brain cells. In short, the news makes your brain fat. Shane Parrish of the educational Farnam Street blog recently dissected the abundance of media:

“Clickbait media is not a nutritious diet. Most people brush this off and say that it doesn’t matter … that it’s just harmless entertainment. But it’s not harmless at all. Worse, it’s like cocaine. It causes our brains to light up and feel good. The more of it we consume, the more of it we want. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Social Media & Technology

Millennials may have ushered in the era of narcissism, but they are no longer responsible for its durability. Everyone else has caught up to the “toxic self-absorption” that plagues the western world. Writer Kristin Dombeck offers some ideas on how to identify a modern day narcissist in the n+1 magazine.

“Narcissists are the most popular kids at school. They are rock stars. They are movie stars. They are not really rock stars or movie stars, but they seem like they are. They may tell you that you are the only one who really sees them for who they really are, which is probably a trick.”

Imagine if offline advertising were just as advanced in its trackability as online ads. Through “grouplization,” Yahoo is proposing an advanced system of smart “sensory system” billboards that halo Orwell's 1984.

These digital billboards—which Yahoo envisions being placed along freeways and in bars, airports, planes, ferries, buses, trains, and other public spaces—might rely on video cameras, satellites, drones, microphones, motion detectors, and “biometric sensors” such as fingerprint, retinal, and facial recognition devices.

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